Birth Of A Squirtboat

The wonderful folks at Murky Water Kayaks have built my cutom squirt boat. Perfect for my measurements, right down to my weight, inseam, and even shoe size! I must admithat half of the fun on having the boat made with the chance to visit the workshop where they make the boats.

Mandy and I pulled up to the home of Ed Skrzykowski, the master fiberglass builder and owner of Murky Water Kayaks. Next to his home is his new 800 sq foot workshop. That's where the magic happens. Ed somehow manages to take fiberglass cloth, epoxy, resin, and his own knowledge and turns out beautiful works of art in the form of a kayak. He has made boats for people all over the world, and each one is unique.

Ed is a great big big bear of a guy. He emerged from his workshop covered in fiberglass shards, paint on his arms, and with old shorts that were literally held together with duct tape. For all the rough edges, Ed turned out to be a real sweetheart. In his back yard he has constructed a sizable pond, home to several turtles that come to the water's edge when he calls.

He told us the story of how he came to have the turtles. Several years ago when he was driving his old Ford F150 down the road he came a large turtle that had been hit by a car. He picked it up and could tell that it was a female with eggs inside. The mother was going to die, and her babies along with her. Ed took the dying turtle back to his home and cut open the shell, removed the eggs, and incubated them till they hatched. He has raised them, and to give them a proper home he dug a huge pond in his back yard where they all live. I can't fathom the type of courage it must take to cut open a turtle and remove the eggs, let alone the commitment to construct a pond for them, but somehow this grizzly man found a way in his soft heart.